5 replies to this topic

[Kevin]

Hey guys,

I found this giant grasshopper laying in a candle, looked dead but when I touched it it hopped like 10 feet away, and I quickly grabbed to to feed to my fire belly toads. Turns out it was a little too big, and they didn't end up eating it. A week goes by, and its rotting in the water. I go to pick it out but when I did there were these little squirmy things on it, so I put it in a cup and added water. Look to be around 20 of them, and I figured it was some kind of parasite that came from either the grasshopper or previous foods from my frogs poop 

All I know now is that there are parasites ready to eat my frog's brains out swimming around in my tank. Any one care to ID these suckers?
 
[ WARNING: The following image may be disturbing to the faint hearted ]

 
Oh yeah, and found in south jersey, lol.


BTW, just in case if they were some kind of virus I put them on the burning hot driveway and torched em lol.

Edited by dspdrew, August 19 2016 - 5:03 PM.
Fixed image

[Batspiderfish]

I've definitely heard about these. The nematodes manipulate the cricket/grasshopper into drowning itself so that they can continue their life-cycle in the water.

 

https://en.wikipedia...rdodes_tellinii

Edited by Batspiderfish, August 19 2016 - 5:42 PM.

[Kevin]

ew, that's a little gross. So they arent harmfull to anything else right?

[Batspiderfish]

ew, that's a little gross. So they arent harmfull to anything else right?

 

It doesn't look that way.

 

Wait, I didn't see the picture when I made that post. Those look like something else!

Edited by Batspiderfish, August 19 2016 - 5:41 PM.

[Batspiderfish]

Kinda like insect larvae? Is it possible something just hatched in there and has been feeding on the cricket?

[Kevin]

huh, I wonder what it was... well most of it is out of the tank, but there's still a few worms left. Probably time to clean the tank anyway.